Residential and commercial air conditioners include as a part thereof a fan coil unit. The fan coil unit includes a coil through which coolant (liquid or gas) is pumped, and normally the coil is spaced above or seated in a convector tray or condensation tray or pan in which condensation collects as air passes through the coil. The condensate which collects in the condensation tray is conducted by an appropriate outlet(s) and pipe(s) to a conventional drain.
Such condensation trays are generally made from galvanized metal and rust with relative ease. Disadvantages of the latter and the manner in which the same are overcome through the construction of an in situ vacuum molded polymeric/copolymeric condensation tray are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,672 dated Aug. 15, 1989 in the name of John Sullivan. Additional novel and unobvious condensation pans/trays or convector trays are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,087 issued on Jan. 22, 1991 in the name of John Sullivan.
A problem unmentioned in the latter-identified patents is particularly common in condensation trays of the type in which the coil rests upon a bottom wall of the condensation tray. In such case the tray, and particularly the bottom wall of both a metallic and a plastic tray, will become cool through conduction from the coil when operating in the air conditioning mode. Surrounding ambient air collects upon the exterior surface of the condensation tray, particularly the exterior surface of the bottom wall thereof. This condensation collects, drips from the tray, and can damage interior mechanical (rust) and electrical (shorts) components of the fan coil unit. Adjoining areas can also be damaged as such condensation inevitably leaks outwardly from the fan coil unit to adjacent living areas. For example, it is not uncommon to see condensation stains adjacent fan coil units which most commonly rest on floors adjacent and beneath windows of motels. In hotels, the fan coil units are at times mounted in the ceiling of a hotel room and the dripping condensation forms highly visible stains in the ceilings. Accordingly, the damage created by condensation is not only functional damage with respect to the fan coil unit, but also aesthetic damage imparted to surrounding areas.